Management systems are sometimes misunderstood as nothing more than a heavy administrative burden providing limited business benefit. In fact, many organizations with management systems in place haven’t effectively defined the processes they actually employ at all. Perhaps it’s because they think management systems only pertain to standards, and “ISO 9001 is separate from how we run the business.”

By maintaining these beliefs, organizations are missing out on significant opportunities to improve their existing processes. This also brings the value of the ISO standards in question. How can an international standard unite with a strategic business plan and facilitate process improvement, and thus, efficiency?

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